Historic blues club Stanhope House gets reprieve after council rejects redevelopment plan

STANHOPE — The Stanhope House has gotten a reprieve, at least for now.

By a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the Borough Council rejected a proposal that would have torn down the historic but troubled music venue that's been graced over the years by blues legends including Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

More than a dozen people spoke against the proposal to replace the 230-year old roadhouse with a multistory apartment building and ground-floor storefronts. To accommodate the overflow crowd that showed up for the vote, the meeting was moved from Borough Hall to the Valley Road School gymnasium, where about 50 people sat on the basketball court.

Stanhope Mayor Gene Wronko and council President Bill Thornton had recused themselves from the vote because of personal ties to Stanhope House owner Jon Klein, who wants to sell the property at 45 Main St. to a developer. The proposed project would have built 40 or more apartments as well as the commercial space, along with an underground parking garage.

The lone vote in favor of the proposal came from Councilman Thomas Romano, while council members Diana Kuncken, Anthony Ricciardi, Scott Wachterhauser and Tyler Simpson opposed the plan.

Stanhope official says 'We need something different'

Kuncken, who has been on the council for 25 years, was the only member who explained her vote. "We need something different. Maybe this will be the catalyst for something to come," she said.

Daniel Smith, a neighbor of the property, was one of several speakers who voiced concerns about the height of the apartment complex, which would reach 50 feet. "It just doesn't fit in," he said.

The three-story Stanhope House dates back to the late 1700s. Preservation advocates say it has served over the centuries as a stagecoach stop, a canal house for the old Morris Canal, a post office and a public meeting space. It is said that Daniel Webster once gave a speech from the building's porch, and Babe Ruth, a frequent visitor to northwestern New Jersey, may have spent time there.

In the 1970s, the building became a venue for live music, with top names in blues making the trek to play its stage.

But the business has struggled in recent years. Declining audiences, exacerbated by COVID, have hurt the bottom line, and the site has physical issues, needing repairs to its roof, basement, plumbing and parking.

More: End for Stanhope House? Vote Tuesday could decide fate of famed blues venue

Klein has said the building needs $300,000 or more in repairs. But after the meeting, borough officials said there has been no inspection of the structure by building officials to substantiate that concern.

Stanhope House owner's next step is unclear

Klein declined to comment on Wednesday. Neither he nor any other representatives for the project spoke at Tuesday's meeting. It's unclear what his next step will be.

Among objections to the planned redevelopment were the added pressure that the new apartments would put on the local school system — critics warned that it would lead to an increase in taxes above any added revenue that the new development could generate. Others warned about added traffic congestion and demands on downtown parking, despite the plans for a new garage for residents.

Staff Writer Jim Beckerman contributed to this article.

Email: bscruton@njherald.com; Twitter/X: @brucescrutonNJH

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Stanhope House redevelopment rejected by council